How Does Jahlil Okafor Fit Alongside Nerlens Noel for Philadelphia 76ers?

For the Philadelphia 76ers, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid were not and could not be reasons to pass up Jahlil Okafor, whom the Sixers selected with the third pick in the 2015 NBA draft.

Even though having three centers on the same roster appears to pose a problem, the draft isn't always about fit. Teams at the top of the draft are typically devoid of talent, and asset acquisition takes priority over the particular needs of a roster. 

Okafor's polished post game dominated college basketball in his lone season at Duke, and he enters the league as a near lock to reign supreme on the block from the get-go. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express has high praise for the freshman phenom: 

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A huge share of Okafor's offense this season came with his back to the basket, where he shows a tremendous feel for the game and is nothing short of an absolutely devastating presence. He has the size to establish deep post-position, and the strength to move players around inside the paint once he catches the ball, showing an incredibly rare combination of power, quickness and finesse. Extremely nimble, Okafor has outstanding footwork, and he does an excellent job of feeling out his defender and reacting appropriately, having all the countermoves in the book, and being capable of executing beautiful spin-moves with superb body control, often using the glass. He uses shot-fakes well and draws a foul on over 18% of his post-possessions according to Synergy Sports Technology, often finishing through contact for an And-1.

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But what about Embiid and Noel? The latter slotted in at center and power forward throughout the season, but his natural tendency to block shots and patrol the paint projects him as more of a 5. Embiid is undoubtedly a center as well. 

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Sixers head coach Brett Brown recognized this Noel-Embiid dilemma last season when he mentioned experimenting with Noel at the power forward position, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly:

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"For the next nine games I want to try playing him off of five men," Sixers coach Brett Brown said pregame of Noel. "I am trying to look at him when it ultimately is going to be he and Joel [Embiid].

"Joel played one-on-one out there for the first few times. We are all excited about that. I stepped back and said if the season ended now, what would you regret, and that would be that I didn't play Nerlens more at the four than I have."

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We can temporarily discount Embiid with reports circulating that his foot injury might have endured further complications, possibly putting his entire 2015-16 season in jeopardy, per Keith Pompey of Philly.com. But even with a healthy Embiid, Noel is the most likely candidate to downshift his position.

His lateral quickness and athleticism—the two assets that make him such a dangerous rebounder and shot-blocker in the first place—provide him with defensive versatility. Though he's not the most physical player, he has the physical tools to stick with quicker 4s. 

But it's on the offensive end where this positional transition makes the most sense. Noel has never been a true back-to-the-basket player. Though he attempted 123 field goals out of the post last season, that only comprised 17.6 percent of his total possessions, according to Synergy Sports. His abysmal 32.5 field-goal percentage on such shots further declares that the block might not be his most effective operating area.

That's why the Sixers are slowly converting Noel into a garbage-man offensive big—diving off pick-and-rolls for tough finishes/lobs, patrolling the baseline for dump-off passes, offensive rebounding, etc.—while developing his jump shot to help the team space the floor should he permanently switch to power forward.

At heart, Noel is an offensive roamer who feeds off guard penetration to find points. We can see this tendency simply by how he operates in spread pick-and-roll play when the Sixers offense breaks down or no play is called. 

Check out where Noel is standing here as the Sixers run a pick-and-roll on the left side of the floor:

Credit: MSG

He's not quite spacing the floor to the three-point line, but he's not lingering on the weak-side baseline area—where the opposite big typically stands—either. He's floating, waiting, reading. He's not the type of player who can gather a pass in tight spaces and muscle his way up to the hoop. He likes to swoop in with some momentum and allow his athleticism to take over.

Here's another example, this time with Jason Richardson bringing the ball up the floor in a transition situation with Noel trailing the play. The Sixers' spacing is discombobulated, mostly because Noel isn't sure where to go. This is a symptom of his unfamiliarity with the power forward position, but we can see his tendency to roam away from the rim and comfort in putting the ball on the floor.

These are traits that Philadelphia can mold. His athleticism and length are tough for most 4s to handle, and any two-big combinations with him at the 4 gives Philadelphia a great rebounding advantage.

Okafor, meanwhile, shot 55.8 percent posting up at Duke, with 53.8 percent of his shots generated from the block, via Synergy. Although his excellent efficiency came against college talent, few players maintain such high levels of efficiency with greater volume. 

Unlike Noel, Okafor is a block-to-block kind of guy who eats up space and feasts down low. Take this play from the Final Four against Michigan State. As Duke resets its offense, Okafor's hovering ground is only one step away from the block:

Credit: TBS

That's his domain, plain and simple. 

The design of the play is for Okafor to flash from elbow to opposite block to look for a post up, which he eventually converts. Never does it call for him to venture above the free-throw line, something which Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski rarely had him do.

Last season in Philadelphia, Brown had his bigs execute dribble handoffs and other types of short passing all over the perimeter. Noel isn't a ball-handler by any stretch of the imagination, but he's capable of making decisions with the ball in his hands.

This is a valuable asset in the pass-heavy offense that Brown runs. Bigs who establish themselves on the elbows open up all kinds of perimeter options for the guards. The defense has to adjust for the ball being close to the basket, which in turn forces it to shrink into the paint. The dribble-handoff action is also a nice alternative to the standstill pick-and-roll, as it keeps both involved players on the move. 

Maybe the most crucial piece of the Noel-Okafor combination will be how Noel moves off the ball in isolation post ups. There's no doubt that Brown will feed Okafor the ball down low, and he proved at Duke that he's a capable passer in tight quarters.

Finding these crevices in the paint—particularly in two-big lineup combinations—is crucial to maintaining the integrity of an offense's spacing. Hover too close to a post-up player with the ball and you've effectively brought a double-team without providing an outlet. Sit too far away and you're not able to be seen. 

Justise Winslow served this role for Duke in smaller lineups, and we can see here how he reads an open cutting lane when Okafor gets double-teamed.

Credit: CBS

When San Diego State sends two players, Winslow is left wide open on the three-point line. The obvious decision for Okafor is to zip a pass out to Winslow, but that's a difficult proposition when leaning on your back foot and falling the wrong way.

He also doesn't have a clear line of sight, and it's possible a San Diego State defender could swoop in for an easy steal. The more likely outcome is that Okafor's high, arcing pass gives the defense time to rotate and realign, negating the advantage.

Instead, Winslow makes Okafor's job easier by cutting into the open space. The man who rotates onto Winslow keeps his eyes peeled on Okafor and thinks he has an easy steal. Because Winslow is cutting and not in the position his defender expects him to be in, he finds himself wide open for a dunk.

This type of chemistry takes time to develop, and it wasn't until late in the season that Duke's players truly understood how to move when Okafor operated under intense defensive pressure.

Noel will learn how to cut similarly, but he'll have the added benefit of greater length and skill in reeling in more off-target passes. This will give Okafor more leeway with the types of kick-out passes he can throw, making it a more difficult proposition to double him. 

This pairing needs work, as do the rest of the Sixers. If and when Embiid returns, the trio will have to find some sort of balance—all three two-man combinations need to work in some capacity. But with enough repetition, Noel and Okafor in particular can complement each other well as offensive players.